Media Releases

Its lights out for rabbits at Uluru this week as teams of volunteers fight to protect the park’s endangered mala, a Rufous Hare Wallaby, from ravenous rabbit invaders. “We have deployed a dozen Environment Department volunteers from national parks and offices across the country to eliminate the rabbits that are breeding in Uluru’s mala enclosure,”…

Procurement for the replacement of the Bureau of Meteorology’s supercomputer is now underway, with request for tenders opening today via the Australian Government website, AusTender. The new supercomputer will enable the Bureau to improve the accuracy of forecasts for severe thunderstorm events and tropical cyclones, as well as improved timing and direction of wind changes…

Today, Shipyard Stories, a new exhibition about the life and times of the Cockatoo Island Dockyard officially opened at Biloela House on Cockatoo Island. “The new exhibition is an important addition to Sydney’s social history and cultural life,” said Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment. “This initiative by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust…

The trial for leaching copper and uranium at the BHP Billiton Olympic Dam heap site has been determined ‘not a controlled action’ under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act). “I welcome this decision, which will give the green light to BHP Billiton to develop and operate a heap leach demonstration plant at the…

The Senate has today passed the Meteorology Amendment (Online Advertising) Bill 2014, providing the Bureau of Meteorology with greater certainty to accept commercial advertising, and to prevent the display of inappropriate types of advertising on its website. “The Government wanted to ensure the powers of the Bureau’s Director included the authority to accept paid advertising…

The final report on investigations by the Supervising Scientist on the impacts of a leach tank failure which resulted in a spill of slurry at Ranger uranium mine in December 2013 has been released today. “Today’s report on the impacts from spilled slurry at Ranger mine in December last year confirms that there were no…

Today the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN) representatives visited Parliament House to discuss the management in the Murray-Darling Basin. “The meeting was a good opportunity to hear about the group’s submission to the Water Act Review 2014, and to discuss cultural flows and future funding arrangements,” said Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment. …

Today the Water Services Association of Australia released their publication on Economic Regulation of Urban Water, highlighting opportunities to improve efficiency in the water sector. “This publication is an example of why Australia has become a world leader in water management, but demonstrates there remains room for improvement,” said Senator Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary for…

The Bureau of Meteorology’s mobile website has been recognised for its excellent design in the weather category at this year’s Australian Mobile and App Design Awards, held in Sydney last night. The Bureau was awarded first place for producing a ‘simple, user-friendly site that makes it easier for people to access weather information on-the-move’. “The…

New research undertaken by BAEconomics released today has found that a one year reduction in delays in processing approvals for resources projects will lift Australia’s national output by a total of $160 billion and create an extra 69,000 jobs by 2025. “I welcome the findings in this report as it demonstrates the gains we can…